know all too well the sacrifices and sleepless nights endured by middle-class families in a struggling economy. >> we don't go out to eat much. we don't spend -- we don't go to the movies much. >> we do a lot of thrift store shopping for my kids for clothes. >> reporter: shawn was unemployed for a year in washington state then two years ago he got a job as an accountant with the federal government so the family of six-- their savings depleted-- moved across the country to woodbridge virginia. his salary of a little more than $70,000 is less than what he used to make. >> before we lost our job they were in -- two were in piano and we haven't been able to do things like that. >> reporter: what's the hardest part of this? >> for me it's my kids knowing that i want more for them. my oldest, who's the one that's most aware of what we've been going through the last couple years she asked me recently, this summer, she's like "mommy when are we going to stop feeling like we're poor." i was like, honey, it's not that we're poor we just can't do a lot of things that other people do. >> reporter: sean an